Children's books book reviews

Kyla Denanyoh
Jun 23
3 min read

Have you ever walked through the children's section of the library and found a book that you would actually enjoy reading yourself?

If you haven't, you need to give it a try.

This post is a little different because instead of reviewing one book, I'm talking about a stack of children's books that my daughter and I have been reading together.

These are children's picture books that cover everything from food and vegetables to opposites, seasons, growing up, and trying new things.

My daughter is almost two and a half years old, and reading has become one of our favorite activities together.

In the morning, we'll ask her what she wants for breakfast.

Toast or oatmeal?

Her answer is often: "Books."

Then we'll read one.

And when we're done?

"Again. Again."

Honestly, I love it.

I've always loved books, and I love seeing that same excitement growing in her.

Lately, we've been using books for a specific purpose: helping her explore food.

When she was younger, she would eat just about anything.

Avocado? Absolutely.

Fish? No problem.

Asparagus? Bring it on.

Then daycare entered the picture.

Like a lot of parents discover, things changed.

Before daycare, she spent most of her time at home with my husband and me. We didn't really buy children's convenience foods. There were no yoghurt pouches or applesauce cups because we simply didn't need them.

She ate what we ate.

Once daycare started, food became a little more complicated, so I decided to use one of my favorite parenting tools: books.

Many of the books we've been reading focus on vegetables, cooking, and trying different foods.

One book talks about vegetables.

Another introduces different styles of cooking.

Another shows that eating can be messy and sloppy, and that's perfectly okay because food is

supposed to be enjoyed.

"Eating can be sloppy, and that's okay because food is yummy."

One of the unexpected standouts was a book about gardening and harvesting vegetables.

A child and their grandfather spend time pulling carrots from the garden and learning about food along the way.

That book actually helped us notice something fascinating.

My daughter had developed a distinction between bread and toast.

She would point at one picture and say "bread," but when she saw sliced bread prepared differently, she would call it "toast."

I remember thinking:

Look at my baby. She knows distinctions.

Mom moments like that make reading together even more fun.

The gardening book also helped reinforce that people eat different foods in different ways.

Vegetables can be combined.

They can be cooked differently.

They can be shared.

And sometimes seeing another child try something in a story is enough encouragement for a toddler to try it too.

Another favorite focused on opposites.

My daughter already loves letters, so she spends time identifying them throughout the book. At the same time, the story reinforces words we use every day:

Up and down.

Over and under.

On and off.

It became a great extension of conversations we were already having at home.

We also found books with different textures and tactile elements, which toddlers naturally love.

Being able to touch and explore while reading makes the experience even more engaging.

But the surprise favorite was a book called Stretch Baby Stretch.

I picked it up purely because of the title.

If you've watched Kyla's Reading Day before, you already know that I have a habit of choosing books by their covers.

I'm trying not to do that when selecting books for my daughter.

I'm trying to focus on books that are simply good.

But when I saw Stretch Baby Stretch, I immediately thought:

Give me that one.

And I'm so glad I did.

The story follows three little girls as they grow up, becoming bigger kids, then teenagers, and eventually adults. It became one of our favorite reads from the entire stack.

Children's books are meant to be reread, and these have all become part of our regular rotation.

More importantly, they've helped us introduce new ideas, foods, vocabulary, and experiences in a way that feels fun instead of forced.

Libraries make that incredibly easy.

You don't have to buy every book your child reads.

Sometimes the best approach is simply checking out a stack of books, seeing what resonates, and bringing home a new stack the next week.